Increase Resource Efficiency Research Articles

Recent developments in non-biodegradable biopolymers: Precursors, production processes, and future perspectives.

During the last decades, biopolymers experienced a renaissance. The increasing limitation of fossil resources in combination with a public demand for environmental-friendly and sustainable processes has led to the formation of a market for biobased plastics. Especially non-biodegradable bioplastics are very interesting materials, as they combine the benefits of reduced carbon footprint during production and increased resource efficiency with the persistence to microbial degradation. Consequently, persistent biomass-derived plastic materials are highly promising to substitute conventional fossil-based plastics in applications, which require durability and longevity. Non-biodegradable bioplastics derived from renewable resources represent 57% of all bioplastics with partially biobased polyethylene terephthalate currently leading the market, followed by biobased polyamides and fully biomass-derived polyethylene. An exceptional biopolymer with thermoplastic properties was discovered only two decades ago, when-for the first time-polythioesters were synthesized by microbial fermentation. Though synthesized by bacteria, it turned out that polythioesters are non-biodegradable by microorganisms in contrast to all other biopolymers and thus, represent a novel non-biodegradable bioplastic material. This review gives an overview about the recent development and progress regarding bioplastics with special focus on persistent bioplastics. We describe the generation of the respective monomers from biomass-derived substrates and summarize the current status of production, which range from the laboratory-scale up to large-scale industrial processes.

Definition of indicators for decision-making to contribute to sustainable development through Cleaner Production and Resource Efficiency by using the AHP method

Rapid growth within the industry sector creates an array of novel issues that have to be dealt with. Major problems as a consequence of continuous and quick development of industry are as follows: the need for high energy consumption (be it electric or thermal), the increase in the level of environmental pollution, and the treatment of waste. Countries in transition, characterized by “an industry in the making”, need to seriously consider the above-mentioned issues. The industry should be subject to professional analysis (the application of resource efficiency and cleaner production) in order to achieve an adequate use of resources. Furthermore, as a result of increased resource efficiency, the industry sector and enterprises will benefit. Greater effectiveness will undoubtedly encourage the use of cleaner production and the launch of the Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP) application in the developing countries (such as the Kosovo case). This research focused on the promotion of sustainable development based on RECP in Kosovo. Based on RECP, analysis has been conducted with the help of the method of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making – Analytic Hierarchy Process for all levels of decision-making. The process is based on four main pillars of sustainable development: environmental, technical, economic, and social. Through RECP, there have been identified specific areas in need of improvement in order to achieve the level within the allowed norms of rational energy consumption, minimize environmental pollution and waste, and maximize the profits of the industry sector (enterprises), which, in turn, can lead to the creation of more jobs.

Modeling Network-Controlled Device-to-Device Communications in SimuLTE.

In Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), network-controlled device-to-device (D2D) communications allow User Equipments (UEs) to communicate directly, without involving the Evolved Node-B in data relaying, while the latter still retains control of resource allocation. The above paradigm allows reduced latencies for the UEs and increased resource efficiency for the network operator, and is therefore foreseen to support several services, from Machine-to-machine to vehicular communications. D2D communications introduce research challenges that might affect the performance of applications and upper-layer protocols, hence simulations represent a valuable tool for evaluating these aspects. However, simulating D2D features might pose additional computational burden to the simulation environment. To this aim, a careful modeling is required to reduce computational overhead. In this paper, we describe our modeling of network-controlled D2D communications in SimuLTE, a system-level LTE-A simulation library based on OMNeT++. We describe the core modeling choices of SimuLTE, and show how these allow an easy extension to D2D communications. Moreover, we describe in detail the modeling of specific problems arising with D2D communications, such as scheduling with frequency reuse, connection mode switching and broadcast transmission. We document the computational efficiency of our modeling choices, showing that simulation of D2D communications is not more complex than simulation of classical cellular communications of comparable scale. Results show that the heaviest computational burden of D2D communication lies in estimating the Sidelink channel quality. We show that SimuLTE allows one to evaluate the interplay between D2D communication and end-to-end performance of UDP- and TCP-based services. Moreover, we assess the accuracy of using a binary interference model for frequency reuse, and we evaluate the trade-off between speed of execution and accuracy in modeling the reception probability.

Expanding particle size distribution and morphology of aluminium-silicon powders for Laser Beam Melting by dry coating with silica nanoparticles

Current requirements for metal powder in Additive Manufacturing via Laser Beam Melting in powder bed (LBM) that ensure repeatably homogeneous thin layers can be spread and LBM products with high relative density ρrel can be built are high sphericity and particle size distributions (PSD) with limited share of fine particles. The most established LBM powder production method today is delicate and costly inert gas atomization. It yields highly spherical particles with continuous particle size distributions, but two thirds of the atomized powder exceed established LBM size ranges. A novel process route to improve flowability of cohesive metal powders is the coating of micro-sized powder particles with small amounts of nanoparticles. In this article, significant improvements in powder layer smoothness and ρrel of LBM samples are shown by statistical analysis of physical experiments on the example of Al-Si powders dry coated with 0.5 wt% nanoparticular fumed silica SiOx. This setup was chosen because Al is most prone to powder flowability issues in LBM and no new chemical elements are added to the alloy from dry coated SiOx. Particle shape is varied from spherical over ovoidal to irregular using powder atomized with Ar, N and air. Effects of variations of PSD and LBM parameters on ρrel, defect types, microstructure and hardness using powders with and without SiOx are investigated. Because ρrel are skewed towards 100%, ANOVA on ranks is the applicable statistical method. Since the principle of using nanoparticles as spacers between microparticles is based on geometry, it is transferrable to other material systems. This may help for example to increase ρrel of LBM metal matrix composites prepared by mechanical alloying as non-spherical particles with considerable amounts of fine particles. The use of larger percentages of atomized powders in LBM can increase resource efficiency.

Riding a Trojan horse? Future pathways of the fiber-based packaging industry in the bioeconomy

The successful implementation of national bioeconomy strategies requires that various actor groups accept the concept and have similar visions for its future development. We use the fiber-based packaging sector to assess the understanding and perception concerning the definition of bioeconomy and its' future pathways. This is accomplished through a qualitative analysis of 14 thematic interviews conducted with actor network members in Finland. Regarding the concept of bioeconomy, their opinions differ broadly, ranging from seeing the concept as a Trojan horse, i.e. a new term for driving old political agendas, to a totally new way of organizing a sustainable future. We identified two alternative bioeconomy visions, of which the socio-ecological one is highlighted slightly more frequently, embedding the implementation of a circular economy and aiming at decoupling resource use from the economic benefits. Additionally, few interviewees considered the technological development pathway with increased resource efficiency to be a more likely outcome for the fiber-based packaging business. However, the simultaneous development of these two paths is envisaged most frequently, indicating that both social and technological innovations are mutually needed to create more sustainable packaging production and consumption patterns. We identified three characteristics of sustainable packaging: compatibility with the circular production-consumption system, satisfying heterogeneous consumer needs, and supporting sustainable lifestyles by extended material life cycles.

X-l ap

Networked control applications for cyber-physical networks demand predictable and reliable real-time communication. Applications of this domain have to cooperate with network protocols, the operating system, and the hardware to improve safety properties and increase resource efficiency. In consequence, a cross-layer approach is necessary for the design and holistic optimisation of cyber-physical systems and networks. This paper presents X-L ap , a cross-layer, inter-host timing analysis tool tailored to the needs of real-time communication. We use X-L ap to evaluate the timing behaviour of a reliable real-time communication protocol. Our analysis identifies parts of the protocol which are responsible for unwanted jitter. To system designers, X-L ap provides useful support for the design and evaluation of networked real-time systems.

Application of Ecological Footprint Accounting as a Part of an Integrated Assessment of Environmental Carrying Capacity: A Case Study of the Footprint of Food of a Large City

The increasing rate of urbanization along with its socio-environmental impact are major global challenges. Therefore, there is a need to assess the boundaries to growth for the future development of cities by the inclusion of the assessment of the environmental carrying capacity (ECC) into spatial management. The purpose is to assess the resource dependence of a given entity. ECC is usually assessed based on indicators such as the ecological footprint (EF) and biocapacity (BC). EF is a measure of the biologically productive areas demanded by human consumption and waste production. Such areas include the space needed for regenerating food and fibers as well as sequestering the generated pollution, particularly CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels. BC reflects the biological regeneration potential of a given area to regenerate resources as well to absorb waste. The city level EF assessment has been applied to urban zones across the world, however, there is a noticeable lack of urban EF assessments in Central Eastern Europe. Therefore, the current research is a first estimate of the EF and BC for the city of Wrocław, Poland. This study estimates the Ecological Footprint of Food (EFF) through both a top-down assessment and a hybrid top-down/bottom-up assessment. Thus, this research verifies also if results from hybrid method could be comparable with top-down approach. The bottom-up component of the hybrid analysis calculated the carbon footprint of food using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The top-down result of Wrocław’s EFF were 1% greater than the hybrid EFF result, 0.974 and 0.963 gha per person respectively. The result indicated that the EFF exceeded the BC of the city of Wrocław 10-fold. Such assessment support efforts to increase resource efficiency and decrease the risk associated with resources—including food security. Therefore, there is a need to verify if a city is able to satisfy the resource needs of its inhabitants while maintaining the natural capital on which they depend intact.

Sustainability indicators from resource flow trends in the Philippines

The topics of resource efficiency, pollution reduction and waste minimization have become important global policy goals and have gained prominence in developing countries in the context of the new Sustainable Development Goals. These pose challenges to the policy community in the formulation of plausible and ambitious targets for resource use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste. To bridge this gap, we utilize the material flow indicators derived from standard MFA methodology to show trends in material use, waste and emissions in the Philippines. We find that direct material inputs in the Philippines grew at 2.4% yearly, from 293 million tonnes in 1980 to 661 million tonnes in 2014. Domestic processed output, or materials released to environment has tripled from 96 million tonnes in 1980 to 260 million tonnes in 2014, with 89% as emission to air. The environmental Kuznets curve shows that the growing economy entails greater pressure to the environment. Net additions to stock grew slower than waste and emissions which is testament of a lack of infrastructure investment in the Philippines. Such a comprehensive material flow account responds to the information requirements of a modern environmental policy stance that looks at economy and environment simultaneously and has not previously been available. These findings call for policies to increase resource efficiency and improvement on recycling system, strict implementation of policies related to solid wastes management, mitigating air emission, and wastewater. The new dataset also shows slow progress in achieving SDG targets 8.4, 12.2 and 12.5.

Measurement Analysis for Increasing Resource Efficiency during Autoclave Processes for the Production of Fiber Composites

Fiber-reinforced plastics are known as outstanding lightweight composite material, which are used in various areas. Especially the demand for components made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) has steadily increased within the last years due to their high strength and stiffness combined with light weight. The manufacturing of CFRP components is a cost-intensive and time-consuming process due to frequently required and challenging manual operations for several working steps. In order to remain competitive and meet the small-batch production because of increasing desire for individuality and diversity, the manufacturing process of CFRP components needs further development. In order to face these challenges, this paper focuses on the resource efficiency of curing processes with the autoclave technology. The measurement analysis of the different energy consumers of the autoclave at changing the curing parameters (temperature, pressure, time) shows how the settings affect the resource efficiency of curing processes. Finally, the authors present their recommendation for action in order to increase resource efficiency.

Roadmap to Rebound: How to Address Rebound Effects from Resource Efficiency Policy

Increasing demand for resources has been met with a new wave of resource efficiency policies worldwide. Such policies are, however, vulnerable to rebound effects when increased resource efficiency leads to additional resource use via behavioural and systemic responses. Yet, the implications of policy-induced rebounds are mostly unknown since most studies have focused on costless and exogenous efficiency improvements that are not linked to any specific policy intervention. After reviewing the literature, we provide guidance for the analysis of policy-induced rebounds. With regards to scope and method design, we highlight the untapped potential of life cycle assessment (to capture trade-offs between life cycle stages and environmental pressures) and macro-economic modelling (to reveal economic consequences beyond supply chain effects). We also find striking asymmetries in research efforts, leaving knowledge gaps for key resource efficiency strategies targeting, among others, materials, water, land, biodiversity, and waste. Lastly, rebound effects generally focus on a single resource, usually energy, and much is ignored about their implications in the context of resource interlinkages. A better understanding of such cross-resource rebounds is key to design and to assess the effectiveness of emerging policy paradigms such as the resource nexus and the sustainable development goals.

Utilization of Information Technologies toward Promotion of 3Rs, Increased Resource Efficiency, Managing the Labor Shortage, and Improved Labor Environments

Utilization of Information Technologies toward Promotion of 3Rs, Increased Resource Efficiency, Managing the Labor Shortage, and Improved Labor Environments

Capturing uncaptured values — A Danish case study on municipal preparation for reuse and recycling of waste

The current call for a transition towards circular economy is often accompanied by the assumption that there are value creation potentials to be captured along with increased resource efficiency. In this study, we aim to provide more detailed knowledge about the size and characteristics of the potential value to be captured from the resources embedded in waste. In order to investigate circular economy potentials in a real-life context, we apply case study research. The case is a municipal waste management company collecting and managing household waste. A number of initiatives are employed to collect as much waste for reuse and recycling as possible. The waste fractions with the highest collection potential are identified as being cardboard, plastics, waste wood and items for reuse. The subsequent processes of preparing these waste types for reuse and recycling are analyzed in the perspective of circular economy value creation. The data include waste amounts, the company’s economic accounting, interviews and observations. From the perspective of the municipal waste authority, the largest value creation potential (economically, socially and environmentally) lies in preparing waste for reuse. Secondly, cardboard for recycling has an economic value potential. The collection, preparation and sales of waste wood and plastics constitute an economic deficit and hold limited environmental and social value. The findings suggest that the current regulation of the waste sector does not sufficiently support a transition to circular economy. From a focus on cost-effectiveness, waste managers must additionally change their mindsets towards a focus on value creation and increase reuse related activities.

Continuous Downstream Processing of Amino Acids in a Modular Miniplant

AbstractGlobal competition leads to a need for a fast time to market and increased resource efficiency. Continuous processing, module‐based plant design, and multipurpose equipment are recently discussed approaches for the fine‐chemical industry. As a representative, the downstream process of amino acid production is discussed herein. A conventional batch procedure was transferred to a continuous process and realized in a modular miniplant, which comprised of evaporation in a wiped‐film evaporator, seeded cooling crystallization in a coiled tubular crystallizer, and solid/liquid separation on a vacuum belt filter. The operations were realized on‐skid with individual automation systems and integrated sensors. L‐Alanine was successfully processed in steady‐state operation.

Optimization of Tooling Design for Hot Mandrel Bending of Pipe Elbows

This paper presents the finite element model developed for the simulation of pipe elbow production by the so-called ‘Hamburg process’ in order to improve productivity and resource efficiency. To optimize the tooling design, a sensitivity analysis of the tool parameters that influence the quality of pipe elbows, such as mandrel height and length, is conducted. Different materials data sets including damage models were considered. Using numerical simulations, it is possible to determine an optimized tool geometry for the production of specific pipe elbow dimensions. Furthermore, as a result of the experiments and numerical simulations conducted, it is possible to increase the production velocity of the serial plant. Along with deformation, damage models are included in simulations in order to identify the right process boundaries. Finally, an experimentally validated model is developed for increasing resource efficiency in pipe elbow fabrication.

Exploring How Usage-Focused Business Models Enable Circular Economy through Digital Technologies

Recent studies advocate that digital technologies are key enabling factors for the introduction of servitized business models. At the same time, these technologies support the implementation of the circular economy (CE) paradigm into businesses. Despite this general agreement, the literature still overlooks how digital technologies enable such a CE transition. To fill the gap, this paper develops a conceptual framework, based on the literature and a case study of a company implementing a usage-focused servitized business model in the household appliance industry. This study focuses on the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and analytics, and identifies eight specific functionalities enabled by such technologies (improving product design, attracting target customers, monitoring and tracking product activity, providing technical support, providing preventive and predictive maintenance, optimizing the product usage, upgrading the product, enhancing renovation and end-of-life activities). By investigating how these functionalities affect three CE value drivers (increasing resource efficiency, extending lifespan, and closing the loop), the conceptual framework developed in this paper advances knowledge about the role of digital technologies as an enabler of the CE within usage-focused business models. Finally, this study shows how digital technologies help overcome the drawback of usage-focused business models for the adoption of CE pointed out by previous literature.

Growth in Environmental Footprints and Environmental Impacts Embodied in Trade: Resource Efficiency Indicators from EXIOBASE3

SummaryMost countries show a relative decoupling of economic growth from domestic resource use, implying increased resource efficiency. However, international trade facilitates the exchange of products between regions with disparate resource productivity. Hence, for an understanding of resource efficiency from a consumption perspective that takes into account the impacts in the upstream supply chains, there is a need to assess the environmental pressures embodied in trade. We use EXIOBASE3, a new multiregional input‐output database, to examine the rate of increase in resource efficiency, and investigate the ways in which international trade contributes to the displacement of pressures on the environment from the consumption of a population. We look at the environmental pressures of energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, material use, water use, and land use. Material use stands out as the only indicator growing in both absolute and relative terms to population and gross domestic product (GDP), while land use is the only indicator showing absolute decoupling from both references. Energy, GHG, and water use show relative decoupling. As a percentage of total global environmental pressure, we calculate the net impact displaced through trade rising from 23% to 32% for material use (1995–2011), 23% to 26% for water use, 20% to 29% for energy use, 20% to 26% for land use, and 19% to 24% for GHG emissions. The results show a substantial disparity between trade‐related impacts for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and non‐OECD countries. At the product group level, we observe the most rapid growth in environmental footprints in clothing and footwear. The analysis points to implications for future policies aiming to achieve environmental targets, while fully considering potential displacement effects through international trade.

Digitalisation as an Enabler of Circular Economy

Digitalisation can boost the transformation towards a more sustainable circular economy. It can help closing the material loops by providing accurate information on the availability, location and condition of products. Digitalisation also enables more efficient processes in companies, helps minimise waste, promotes longer life for products and minimises the transaction costs. Thus, digitalisation boosts the circular economy business models by helping to close the loop, slow the material loop and narrow the loop with increased resource efficiency. However, there are still many challenges to be solved in order to gain the desired benefits and gaps hindering digital technology-aided circular business models implementation. The existing literature that discusses the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation is still very limited, and therefore, our exploratory and qualitative study seeks to clarify these perspectives. There is a significant research gap in understanding those challenges and finding solutions to them. In our study, we identified challenges related to adopting novel business models, data collection and management, collaboration and competence requirements. The virtualization of products and processes, collaboration with stakeholders and utilising digitalization were highlighted to be major opportunities in adopting CE-based business models.

Evaluation of a centralised transportation assistance system for passengers with special needs at a Canadian airport

Transportation assistance for travellers with special needs (e.g., disabled, sick, elderly, unaccompanied minors) is provided at most airports, and the demand for this service is increasing every year. At most airports, air carriers are independently responsible for this service, and they set their own service levels and practices. We expect that a centralised system would increase resource efficiency and passenger satisfaction. We conduct an evaluation of such a centralised system at a Canadian airport using two distinct and independent models: simulation and queuing. We find that consolidating the service produces higher levels of service quality for passengers while, at the same time, uses fewer resources. We also discuss the pros and cons of a centralised system from the perspectives of the airport authority, the airlines, and the passengers. Our methodology may be applied to other airports worldwide to evaluate a centralised transportation assistance system for passengers with special needs.

Evaluation of a centralised transportation assistance system for passengers with special needs at a Canadian airport

Transportation assistance for travellers with special needs (e.g., disabled, sick, elderly, unaccompanied minors) is provided at most airports, and the demand for this service is increasing every year. At most airports, air carriers are independently responsible for this service, and they set their own service levels and practices. We expect that a centralised system would increase resource efficiency and passenger satisfaction. We conduct an evaluation of such a centralised system at a Canadian airport using two distinct and independent models: simulation and queuing. We find that consolidating the service produces higher levels of service quality for passengers while, at the same time, uses fewer resources. We also discuss the pros and cons of a centralised system from the perspectives of the airport authority, the airlines, and the passengers. Our methodology may be applied to other airports worldwide to evaluate a centralised transportation assistance system for passengers with special needs.

Scaling up Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production for an Sustainable Industrial Development

Abstract Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP) is a globally proven approach to improve productivity and reduce environmental impact of the enterprises. Application of RECP is beneficial for enterprises, in particular SME's, contributing to enhancing their productivity and competitiveness; for the environment by lowering the impact of their operations, and for people, by decreasing the risks to workers and communities (UNIDO, 2015). Greening up the economies, the major global trend nowadays, could become reality by focusing on the existing industries and by supporting an significant number of enterprises, in particular SME's, to increase resource efficiency and productivity while lowering their impact on the environment. Implementing RECP requires a systematic and continuous approach for the identification and evaluation of the existing inefficiencies, addressing them by applying “standard practices” to all waste and emissions causes and process inefficiencies and monitoring the enterprises level results; the method usually implies elaboration of quit complex materials and energy balances, and laborious feasibility analyses, activities usually performed with technical support from RECP experts. The question raised in the last years was how to increase the number of companies implementing RECP and how to sustain and mainstream RECP. Solutions are proposed to intensify application of RECP methods, practices and techniques and innovative approaches are used to facilitate the expansion of RECP application and transfer of existing experiences and best practices to a larger number of enterprises.